Archaeologists are carrying out excavations in Hnatkowice in the area of the Orły commune in the Przemyśl district, during which they have come across the remains of an intensive settlement dating back some 5,500 years. In an area of less than 1 acre, archaeologists identified a thick accumulation layer, in which lay more than 4,000 fragments of vessels, several hundred flint wares, items related to weaving, and even a fragment of a clay spoon.

“The artefacts we recovered at Hnatkowice are extremely interesting and are of great value for the discussion on the formation of the settlement of the ‘sub-Carpathian’ Aeneolithic populations in the mid-4th millennium BC. This settlement, especially in the area of the Rada and Łęg Rokietnicki, i.e. the western tributaries of the San, looks intriguing. Just a dozen or so years ago, it would have been difficult to imagine that in the area of the present-day Podkarpackie Voivodeship we would come across zones so strongly colonised by ‘downland’ populations”, said research team leader Dr Dariusz Król.

The excavations in Hnatkowice constitute the first chord of this year’s field activities planned by researchers from the Institute of Archaeology at the University of Rzeszów on the territory of the Orły and Radymno municipalities.